


At the Palace

by merryghoul



Category: Suits (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Basketball, Coaches, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-24
Updated: 2014-03-24
Packaged: 2018-01-16 20:20:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1360474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryghoul/pseuds/merryghoul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harvey and Mike face off against Louis at the Palace of Auburn Hills. College basketball coach AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	At the Palace

**Author's Note:**

> I know Louis is not that knowledgeable about basketball in the canon. I implied that he knows some things about basketball in this fic because of the profession. But not too many things. 
> 
> The places and college basketball teams exist in real life. The rosters of the teams (and the coaches, obviously) are made up. Although CBS Sports is mentioned, none of the on-air talent is mentioned in this fic.
> 
> trope_bingo: au: alternate professions

"When I took this job," Harvey said, rubbing his eyes, "I never thought I'd spend so much time watching game footage until my eyes bulge out."  He drank his coffee.

"Hey, you were the one that wanted this job.  If you didn't want it, I'm sure there's an athletic director position floating around the US somewhere."

Harvey used to be an assistant to former, and now disgraced, Harvard men's basketball coach Daniel Hardman.  Harvey had gotten the head coaching position at St. John's University just as the scandal broke out.  He took his secretary, Donna, and assistant Mike with him.

Mike had a few secrets of his own.  The biggest one he had, though, was that he was never a collegiate basketball player.  He also didn't have any experience coaching at a college.  He got the job because he was running away from feds in a botched drug deal.  His hideout happened to be the day Harvey was looking for a new assistant coach.  So, for the media, Michael Ross, assistant basketball coach for the St. John's men's basketball team, played at a Division III school and coached at another one.  It was enough to keep the NCAA, _Outside the Lines_ and every other investigative television show on broadcast television at bay.

At the moment, the two were in the clear.  Instead, they were viewing footage of a recent game between St. John's next opponent, Columbia, and their last Ivy League opponent, Penn.  St. John's and Columbia were playing each other in the Palace of Auburn Hills for the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament later that week.  

Columbia was having a stellar season, winning the regular season Ivy League championship as well as its tournament.  Oddsmakers had St. John's winning over Columbia, but anything could happen in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.  Columbia could beat the odds and win.

"I feel like I'm back in school studying pre-law," Harvey said.  "All I need are a few cheerleaders and I'll be set."

"You could be the father of some of those cheerleaders now."

"No, I meant the Harvard cheerleaders back when I was playing for Harvard.  I'm not in the mood to create a scandal straight out of a Lifetime movie.  Your situation's bad enough as it is."  Harvey cleared his throat.

"Are you upset that you have to play Louis?"

"Yes, I'm a bit upset.  If I lose, I won't hear him shut up about it for days.  He'll tell me about his all-Harvard coaching staff and how they're superior to every other basketball team in the city.  And then he'll tell me how sad he is about _not_ getting the coaching position at Harvard."

"He's our Danny DeVito."

"Huh?"

"You haven't seen _Space Jam_ yet, Harvey?"

"Oh.  You mean Louis' the short alien manager guy from the movie."

"Yeah."

"It remains to be seen if his players all turn into Monstars.  Hopefully they won't, and if they do, I hope they forfeit the game."  Harvey laughed.  "Let's get back to note-taking.  We need to set up a solid defense for the Columbia offense.  You see Louviere there?  He looks like he could be a problem.  We need to make sure he doesn't get off good shots past the three-point line.  This guy could've gone to Duke and done the same thing, but he chose Columbia.  Maybe he's allergic to all the pine trees down there."

"That's good for Columbia but bad for both Duke and us on Thursday."

"You said it."

 

Harvey and his team reviewed footage of Columbia playing various games throughout the year: Delaware State, Indiana, Drexel, Seton Hill.  They did extensive drills with a focus of defending the basket and guarding three-point shooters.  There was even a reminder:  if they had to, foul the weakest free-throw players and hope they don't make their shots near the end of the game.

All of it wasn't enough to stop the Lions from taking a 15 point lead at halftime.  The Lions led 45-30 over the Red Storm.

Everyone was stunned.  Well, everyone except for the Columbia supporters that trekked to Detroit to see the game.  The announcers at CBS' NCAA Men's Tournament studios in Atlanta were coming up with their own theories on Columbia's first half success.The CBS play-by-play announcers had their own theories at the Palace's court. 

Harvey was so upset he almost didn't talk to CBS' courtside reporter before going back to the bench after halftime.  He was already irritated by the camera CBS placed in his locker room to record his halftime speech to his team.  (Donna, who was with the team, had to stuff Mike in a locker so CBS wouldn't record his face for more than a few seconds at a time.  The curtain over one of the lockers looked dodgy on camera, but it was all Donna and Harvey had.)  But the reporter was able to stop him and ask him his plans to beat Columbia.          

"I think the guys are a bit _too_ excited to beat Columbia," Harvey said to the reporter.  "I told them they need to calm down, relax, and think before they do anything."

When Harvey left to rejoin his team, he whispered.  "No, I told them to beat that rat-faced bastard."

Harvey sat beside Mike as the second half went underway.

"I don't get it.  We're zoning in on Louviere.  We're blocking Atkins on the wing.  What are we missing?  If we don’t figure it out, we'll be the laughing stocks of New York City."

Mike watched the Red Storm play on Columbia's side of the court.  After seeing a Red Storm player muscle his way to get in a layup and drawing a foul, Mike pulled out his dry erase board.  He drew three circles near the net.

"Mike, what kind of defense is that?"

"Let's confuse Louis.  You know how he's always bragging about playing the way Adolph Rupp played in 1958?"

"Even though Louis doesn't know who Rupp is.  His assistants had to tell him.  And they've been to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame."

"I think the problem isn't us targeting Louviere or Atkins.  We have to force Louis into thinking he's not Rupp.  Or at least his idea of Rupp."

"Who should we make him feel like?"

"John Chaney?"

Harvey stared at Mike.  "You don't have a different reference?"

"Not off the top of my head, no."

"You know I don't want to _literally_ kill Louis, right?"

At the first television time out, Harvey detailed their new defensive plans while Mike pointed them out to the players.  There would be more guards at the basket.  There would be more sudden movements whenever a Columbia player threw the ball.  The goal was to play in a nontraditional way, enough to unnerve Columbia and Louis.  Harvey's players gave him puzzled stares and looks.  But they didn't question Harvey's coaching.  They went with it.

Mike was right: the unexpected plays made by St. John's startled Columbia.  Turnovers were made.  Fouls were committed often by Columbia.  Louivere even grew frustrated by St. John's plays to the point where he fouled out.  Louis lost his cool and almost got a technical foul.  (His assistants restrained him in the nick of time.)

St. John's came from behind in a matter of five game time minutes to beat Columbia 72-67.  Although they didn't need to celebrate in the middle of the palace court, they jumped and danced there anyway. 

 

"I don't know what happened, to tell you the truth," Louis said in front of the sports press during the post-game conference.  Louivere and Atkins were sitting beside him.  "We were playing so well.  I felt like we had the potential to be another…you know, the team that won in 1983."

"NC State," a reporter said from the back of the room.

"Yeah, them.  At worse we could've been…the team that defeated the blue and red birds in 2011."

"That was VCU and—"

" _I know._   But I felt like we had the talent and strength to get there.  We lost our composure along the way.  We'll get it back next year.  We are going to be that…red team from North Carolina again."    

As Louis and his players were leaving the media stage, Louis bumped into Harvey backstage.  Louis stared and sneered at Harvey before saying "I hate you," running off for the Columbia locker room.

Harvey threw up his hands in the air.  "Come on, Louis.  You know you love me."


End file.
